The first organization to warn the world of the Nazis’ Final Solution', with the historic telegram sent by WJC Secretary General Gerhart Riegner in August 1942, the WJC was involved in relief activities during World War II and subsequently with the plight of refugees and the problems of post-war reconstruction. And the WJC has continued to fight for justice for Holocaust victims until this day.

In the 1950s, WJC President Nahum Goldmann led the negotiations for reparations for Holocaust survivors with the post-war German government. These reparations are still being paid, in the form of pensions, to Holocaust survivors, to this day. In the 1990s, after the fall of the Berlin wall, it was the WJC which co-founded of the World Jewish Restitution Organization, spearheaded diplomatic efforts to seek the restitution of Jewish property that was  wrongfully seized and withheld from Jews and their heirs since the World War II.

No area was left untouched, whether it was personal or communal property, homes, or synagogues, in central and eastern Europe.  And it was the WJC which called for restitution of assets of those who perished under the Nazis, being held in so-called dormant bank accounts in Switzerland and elsewhere.

The WJC brought international attention to bear upon those who were wrongfully holding these assets, and ensured that they were returned to their rightful owners, or that adequate compensation was paid.  Commissions were set up in 17 nations to investigate Holocaust era assets, and the funds recovered have been used to support a multitude of programs worldwide.

It was the World Jewish Congress which fought for justice for forced labourers – both Jewish and non-Jewish – whose agonizing hardship had gone uncompensated for decades.

The World Jewish Congress has been at the forefront of countless campaigns for justice for Jews over the last decades. In the late 1970s, the WJC took up the cause of Soviet Jews, and campaigned tirelessly to have the ‘Prisoners of Zion’ be granted permission to move to Israel or to remain, practice and express their religion freely, and rebuild their communities.

It was also the WJC that brought to the world's attention the fact that former Austrian President, and UN Secretary General, Kurt Waldheim had been a member of the Nazi SS and had lied about his wartime past. An international diplomatic blockade ensured that Waldheim was received by few world leaders.

Today, the World Jewish Congress is active on different levels to ensure that the United Nations fulfils its critical human rights agenda and adequately reacts to the threat posed by Iran and its quest for nuclear weapons.

The World Jewish Congress consists primarily of national Jewish representative organizations or communal bodies. With headquarters in New York, the WJC and its affiliates has offices around the world, including in Brussels, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Geneva, Johannesburg, Moscow, Ottawa, Paris, Sydney and in Jerusalem, where the WJC's research institute is located.

The principal bodies of the World Jewish Congress are:

• The Plenary Assembly meets every four years and is the supreme body of the World Jewish Congress to which WJC members send delegates according to the strength of their community. Delegates of other affiliated Jewish organizations are also members of the Plenary Assembly. The Plenary Assembly elects the WJC President and other officers and sets out the main policies of the World Jewish Congress. The last Plenary Assembly was held in Jerusalem in January 2009, at which Ronald S. Lauder was confirmed as WJC president (he was elected by the Governing Board in June 2007 as acting WJC president), and Eduardo Elsztain became the new chairman of the Governing Board.

• The Governing Board meets at least once a year and is the main body of the WJC between the meetings of the Plenary Assembly. It is also responsible for electing the WJC secretary-general (upon recommendation of the Executive) and reviewing the WJC budget.

• The Executive conducts the affairs and act on behalf of the World Jewish Congress, in accordance with the decisions of the Plenary Assembly and the Governing Board, between meetings of the Governing Board.  The Executive Committee is comprised of the WJC president, the chairman of the Governing Board, the treasurer, the vice-presidents, and the chairmen of the five regional WJC affiliates. At the 13th WJC Plenary Assembly in Jerusalem in January 2009, the 400 delegates elected the following WJC vice-presidents: Yaakov Bleich (Ukraine), Helena Glaser (Israel), Robert Goot (Australia), Flo Kaufmann (Great Britain), Charlotte Knobloch (Germany), Tomas Kraus (Czech Republic), Tamar Shchory (Israel), Marc Schneier (USA), and Mervyn Smith (South Africa). Other WJC vice-presidents appointed by the WJC’s regional affiliates are: Roger Cukierman, France (for the European Jewish Congress), Moshe Ronen, Canada (for the WJC North America), Eduard Shifrin, Russia (for the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress), and Sara Winkowski, Uruguay (for the Latin American Jewish Congress). Ex-officio members of the WJC Executive are currently: Alexander Machkevitch (president of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress), Moshe Kantor (president of the European Jewish Congress), Evelyn Sommer (president of WJC North America), Jack Terpins (president of the Latin American Jewish Congress), and Shai Hermesh (chairman of WJC Israel). Other members of the Executive Committee are Menachem Z. Rosensaft (WJC General Counsel) and Lior Herman.

A smaller Steering Committee runs the day-to-day activities of the World Jewish Congress. It is composed of the president, the chairman of the WJC Governing Board, the treasurer and the chairmen of the five regional affiliates. Other members may be appointed by the Executive Committee.

As a global leader, the World Jewish Congress received special credentials and recognition at the United Nations making it unique among world-wide organizations as it enjoys a diplomatic seat in the UN and within many of it institutions, commissions and sub-bodies.